Kristin Tardif, a professor at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, is the new owner of Bookish: An Indie Shop for Folks Who Read, located in the Bakery District of Fort Smith, Ark., KHBS reported. The shop was launched by Jennifer Battles and Sara Putnam in 2018.
"Independent bookstores are really community oriented businesses," said Tardif. "The goal is to create an experience to bring the community in."
Her research "focuses on the development of creative and experience economies, and she sees owning the bookstore as an opportunity to practice what she teaches," KHBS wrote.
"By supporting me and the coffee shop and the restaurant and everything else, the food trucks, you're actually supporting the economy and building Fort Smith to be a better community," she said.